Still, Gara genuinely wondered why Zana was so accommodating. His pretty face would only make her friendly, but offering a stranger a ride home seemed excessive.
"Zana, no offense," he began, without beating around the bush, "why are you being so kind to me?"
She looked surprised, but instead of annoyance, a wide smile spread across her face. "I really want you to be my brother's partner!"
"What kind of partner?" He looked confused.
Beside him, Madha caught a foul scent. He took a step forward, making his presence known.
However, this girl had quite thick skin. "Of course, a life partner! My brother's bride!"
Gara and Madha were equally, genuinely surprised. Hadn't she seen her brother's fierce glares at Gara?
"You must be joking," Gara let out a slight chuckle. He glanced at the burn mark in his hand.
Before Zana could deny it, they quickly said goodbye and walked away as fast as if chased by a mad dog.
Not far from them, Zayn saw his sister talking with the two boys: one pretty, the other muscular and handsome. They screamed threat to Zayn.
Seeing his sister about to call them over, Zayn quickly interjected. "Zana, let's go home."
She hadn't realized her brother had arrived. "Brother, I want them to join us in the carriage. We can give them a ride."
"Absolutely not! Don't go near them. Don't easily believe guys' words!"
She stomped her foot, annoyed. "Brother, you know my gut is always right! I can feel they're good people, especially Gara. He could be your..." She chose not to finish her sentence, otherwise she'd invite another barrage of nagging.
However, she had to make her brother understand her. "Anyway, they're good people!"
Sighing, Zayn gave up. His sister was indeed always right. Several past incidents had led them into serious trouble because they hadn't believed her.
One of their parents' long-time business partners had proposed a bigger deal, claiming it would generate more yield. At that time, Zana had cried, telling her parents that the partner didn't seem trustworthy and must be up to something. Without proof, no one believed her; she only relied on her gut feeling.
A month later, the partner fled to another province without a word. Their parents tried to trace him but couldn't. Their poor town became even poorer.
Since then, they believed everything Zana said, but it still wasn't enough to remove the label of poor noble.
He could believe everything his sister said, but when it came to guys, he didn't want to believe it. He was just too worried about his sister.
However, he knew Gara was different. He didn't exactly hate that pretty boy. Had Gara been there, he would see that the heart icon above Zayn's head, which started as negative, had turn to 25%.
...
Meanwhile, Gara and Madha headed towards the town gate, where carriages waited for passengers. For now, it wasn't the time for carriages to arrive, so they were the ones waiting.
"You, drenched boy!" The soldier from yesterday recognized them.
They politely greeted the soldier, who wore faded brown quilted gambesons with the town's crest embroidered on his chest. An iron helmet topped with a black horsehair plume sat on his head. His waist was wrapped with a black sash, into which a machete was securely tucked.
"Come, wait here!" he called them.
Afraid Gara would swelter under the scorching sun, Madha led them towards the older man.
The soldier stood in front of the gate, which had an overhanging roof that provided shade from the sun.
They introduced themselves. The soldier's name was Juno; he was a native of this town and lived with his wife and children. As they stood beside him, the soldier offered them stools.
"When I get tired, I won't hesitate to reclaim my seat. So just sit there," the soldier said. He looked menacing on the outside, but was kind-hearted on the inside.
Madha let Gara sit.
Indeed, Gara felt tired. When he'd practiced with Langga earlier, he had used too much energy, and now he was feeling the backlash.
With an apologetic look, he sat on the stool.
Opposite them, another soldier from Juno's shift was also talking to someone else. The job of town gate guard seemed quite relaxed.
Giving himself time to rest, Gara let Madha and Juno chat. Madha seemed polite and intelligent, good at conversation. At this moment, Gara almost forgot that this very same person could become incredibly foolish when it came to him.
Not long after, the carriage arrived. They bid farewell to Juno then hopped into the carriage.
It immediately filled with passengers who had been waiting. Gara was pushed deeper inside. Madha instinctively shielded him from any pressure.
He then handed Gara the cajuputi remedy he had prepared earlier. Gara could only close his eyes to reduce the nausea and lean on Madha's shoulder.
His shoulder surprisingly felt soft. I almost forgot that his Talent was given as a gift because of me.
During the trip, he didn't even realize that Madha was gently massaging his palm with great care.
After a long ride, Madha softly patted Gara's shoulder. "We're here."
Gara opened his watery eyes. Because they sat right behind the carriage driver, they could see the street ahead. Right at the fork in the road, a familiar middle-aged woman stood with a stern face.
Mom!
He took a deep breath, then said to Madha, "You don't need to get down. I'll talk face-to-face with my mom."
With a worried gaze, Madha let Gara leave the carriage. Once Gara hopped down, the driver whipped the horse, and the carriage left the fork in the road.
Only Gara, looking confident—or trying hard to look confident—and his mother remained.
"Mom, I'm a Liner now. But my Talent isn't offensive. I even just got a mission to provide water for another village," Gara explained quickly.
Wina still looked unconvinced.
"Mom, I'll make sure you don't have to work hard in the field if I become a Liner. I'm doing this because I don't want to see you in hardship anymore."
His watery eyes, from the carsickness earlier, and pleading look softened Wina's expression. "Let's go home first. Mom made dinner for you."
Gara's face instantly lit up with delight. Wina gently grabbed his wrist, and they headed home together.
But then her brows furrowed. She stopped walking, raised his hand which was still holding Gara's wrist, and felt it again.
Her expression quickly turned to disappointment.
"Are you pregnant?"
...